COEUR d'ALENE - Lukas D. O'Dowd and his father-in-law made it their habit to ride their bicycles on Fernan Lake Road twice a week this past summer.

"It quickly became our favorite ride because it's hard not to get a workout when climbing 1,900 feet," said O'Dowd, 31, of Coeur d'Alene.

But since O'Dowd was allegedly punched and pushed off the road and down an embankment by an angry pickup truck driver during a ride on Sept. 15, O'Dowd hasn't been back.

"We did that ride about twice a week until that happened," he said.

The pickup truck driver, Larry G. Jones, 64, of Post Falls, has been charged with misdemeanor battery and pleaded not guilty. A jury trial is scheduled for Nov. 28 in front of Judge Robert Caldwell.

Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh said he hates to see this kind of case popping up.

"It can be such a dangerous situation," McHugh said.

It's possible that bicyclist-versus-driver altercations might become more common as more and more people choose to commute by bike. Also, cyclists training for races and others riding for fun can be frequently seen on roadways in rural parts of Kootenai County.

With more bicyclists, the potential for riders and drivers to get frustrated with each other increases.

Jones, in an interview with The Press on Friday, said he did nothing wrong in this case.

"He came after me with his bike," Jones said. "I pushed him out of the way."

The incident

Sept. 15 was supposed to be another great ride for O'Dowd and his father-in-law, Bob I. Hull, 58, of Hayden, on the East Fernan Lake Road.

O'Dowd and Hull were headed down the road with O'Dowd in the lead, traveling about 35 mph, they told investigators, according to court documents.

O'Dowd told investigators they were using the whole lane, were close to the centerline, coming around a curve in the road.

O'Dowd heard Hull yell out. When he turned around, O'Dowd spotted Jones' Chevy Silverado, the front bumper of which was about a foot from the back of Hull's bike.

As they moved over to the right hand side of the road, Jones started around them. According to what O'Dowd and Hull told investigators, Jones then turned into O'Dowd and slammed on his brakes. Jones had a passenger, Donald M. McMinimy, 55, Hayden, with him.

Hull, in a written statement to sheriff's department investigators, said, "The occupants started yelling out the window. From behind I could not hear what was said, but it got louder and then the driver attempted to run Lucas off the road."

The road is cut into the hillside. The right side of the road is about five to 10 feet away from the rock face of the hillside.

"Any departure from the road on that side would likely be deadly at those speeds," O'Dowd said.

He said that once Jones had stopped he exited the truck.

O'Dowd said he was able to get around Jones' vehicle to continue down the hill, along with Hull, and get away from Jones, a sheriff's deputy's report said.

But that wasn't the end of it. Jones followed them.

About a half-mile to a mile down the road, Jones caught up with them again, and once again, Jones cut O'Dowd off, documents said.

Again, Jones got out of his vehicle.

O'Dowd's left foot was still locked into one of his bike pedals. He was pushing his bike with his right leg to get the bike going and get around and away from Jones and his vehicle.

But Jones grabbed O'Dowd as he moved from the right side of the rear of the truck to the left.

"He then punched me in the right side of the face near my ear and pushed me, or the force of the blow sent me off the other side of the road," O'Dowd wrote in his statement to investigators. "I went down the embankment and hit a barbed wire fence post."

O'Dowd said the post was broken so it didn't cause much damage, other than scratches on his legs and a bruised tailbone.

O'Dowd yelled at Jones, telling him he'd messed with the wrong person and had a lawsuit coming.

Jones got back in his vehicle and took off.

As Jones took off from the scene, O'Dowd and Hull got his license plate number and called 911.

Jones was soon tracked to his home.

Driver's view

Jones told a sheriff's deputy that O'Dowd and Hull were riding in a manner that did not allow him to pass, court documents said.

Jones said that he yelled out the window for them to pull over. He said he had to follow them for a mile, until he came to a spot in the road he felt was safe to pass.

He said that as he was passing, they made gestures that he found offensive. Jones said he pulled over to confront them.

He said Hull and O'Dowd used profane language toward him, angering him.

According to a deputy's report, "Jones stated he wasn't proud of the incident, but felt individuals riding bicycles on the roadway should have to abide by the same laws that a vehicle does."

Jones was taken into custody and booked into the Kootenai County jail for battery.

In the interview with The Press, Jones said the cyclists were going down the road at 20 or 25 mph. He followed them for about a mile, waiting for an opportunity to pass, but it never came.

"They were pretty dang rude to me," Jones said.

He wasn't being sneaky, as his Chevy Silverado has a loud diesel engine, he said.

He said the cyclists knew he was there, that he wanted to pass, and they just ignored him.

"'Put some mirrors on your bike so you can see when somebody is behind you,'" Jones said he remembered yelling at them.

Jones said he has a cabin up in that area, and travels there four times a month during the season. He's had the cabin 11 years, he said.

He's seen the number of bicyclists using the road increase.

"Most of them are reasonably good," he said.

He hasn't had other problems with bikers like he had with O'Dowd and Hull.

Other riders move over, and allow him to pass when he approaches, he said.

O'Dowd and Hull did not, and were riding side by side, he said.

He said he didn't attempt to run them off the road.

"I pulled off to ask them what the problem is," he said.

The second time he pulled over, he said, O'Dowd came at him, so he pushed him. O'Dowd fell over the side of the road and down the embankment, he said.

It looks like the case will come down to a "he said/he said."

O'Dowd, an in-house attorney for a stock brokerage, said he thinks the case has been undercharged. He believes assault would have been more appropriate.

"When I got home, I was glad to be alive," O'Dowd told The Press on Friday. "I was scared for my life. I don't think drivers on the road should be able to wield that kind of force against riders."

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